THE POWER OF MUSIC
«The high and lofty one who lives in eternity, the Holy One, says this: ‘l live in the high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble. I restore the crushed spirit of the humble and relive the courage of those with repentant hearts’ » (Isaiah 57:15).
Charlotte Elliott was born in the Victorian era in London, in 1789. Her grandfather was a famous Evangelical preacher and from the time she was little, she learned about God’s love.
In her youth, Charlotte wrote humorous verses, but at the age of 32, she suffered a grave illness that disabled her for the rest of her life. Her spiritual mentor, Cesar Malan, a Swiss minister and hymn writer, advised her to replace her anger and internal turmoil with peace and faith in God. From that moment on, she began using her literary talent to write hymns.
Although she sometimes became depressed because of her illness, she always felt renewed by the certainty of salvation and replied to her Savior through hymns.
In 1934 she published Invalid’s Hymnbook, containing about 150 hymns. The most well-known one is «Just As I Am,» which was included in many British and North American hymnbooks.
Her simple hymns of comfort for those who are ill or suffering make up six thick volumes.
This hymn in particular was written one afternoon in which Charlotte was alone. Her family had gone to a church activity and she had to stay home because of her illness. She felt useless and depressed. But she remembered the message her mentor had shared with her, «Come to Christ just as you are.» She cheered up and wrote these beautiful lyrics.
God invites and calls us just as we are and wherever we are. Today we’re given a new opportunity to respond to His call.
At least two lessons can be learned from this story.
In the first place, we know God receives us as we are but, just as it happened with Charlotte, He can use our talents for His glory and make us a blessing. By using them, we can offset the difficult times we have to live through.
Secondly, like Cesar, we can be mentors and give messages of comfort. Who Imows how many blessings could come about because of it?
